Completing a PhD degree is extremely difficult; it is the stage where some students are married or working a job(s) or dealing with other life challenges. So, maintaining emotional and physical health with so much on the plate becomes quite a challenge. So, taking PhD assignment writing help can be a convenient option.
As per the Chronicle of Higher Education report, 50% of doctoral students usually drop out of school without completing their degrees. Commonly the reasons causing them to drop out are they lose interest in their pursuit, academic shortcomings, and other personal responsibilities.
Therefore, if you’re planning to pursue your education further and want to get a PhD degree, here are must-know secrets for you to complete your doctorate without losing hope.
Things To Know When you are a PhD Student
Here are the ten secrets you must know about to excel at your PhD degree:
1. Write from the Start
The core of every PhD program is to compose a good quality manuscript for publication. Thus, doctoral students need to start writing at the early stage of the degree. We’d recommend you get to work as soon as you finalize your dissertation plan.
Several tools and strategies are available for students to explore and write without getting out of their comfort zone. For instance, a qualitative methodology can save a significant amount of time and enable you to submit a manuscript for publishing more quickly. Nevertheless, a dissertation can follow a quantitative, qualitative or mixed approach.
Working on your dissertation from the start is crucial as teaching, assignments, doctoral coursework, and family and social obligations can all interfere with your writing schedule. Therefore, it is always advisable to engage regularly with work, study, community and home, during the degree.
Flow diagram of a four-year doctoral program
As shown in the flow diagram above (source), the first year is significant if you want smooth progress in your research without lagging in the coursework. While the second year is more course intensive, students can focus entirely on the research work in the third year. Finally, during the fourth year, they can dedicate most of their time to research with a balanced concentration on completing the research work and the dissertation before the public defence.
2. Know Your Field
Several students don’t worry about enhancing their background knowledge about the field until they jump head-first into a PhD program. The goal is not just completing the degree but building original and significant research in the area of expertise. Therefore, you will have to learn about different things, as knowing about your field will help you understand its other crucial aspects.
Usually, when you start a PhD program, you think you know everything, as you’ve come a long way. However, a PhD is a study in itself. Your previous studies might have prepared you for this degree program to some extent, but you might still require new skills and knowledge when you begin.
You don’t need to worry, though! You will get enough time to fill the hollows in your knowledge and build new skills as long as you stay committed to the goal.
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3. Build Networks
Some doctoral degrees, such as social sciences and management, are gradually cross-cultural and interdisciplinary. Therefore, it is not easy for PhD students to progress and complete their degrees independently.
However, a healthy set of associations, networks, and research collaborations with professional organisations and individuals is the key to success. This academic networking can provide students different benefits, including:
- Finding new research opportunities
- Easing information sharing
- Innovations in the field of specialisation
- Enhancing understanding of the developments
There are several ways of building personal networking. For example, you can take additional courses outside the university or attend conferences, enlarging your social circle.
Another way is to foster research collaborations among universities, individuals and groups, across sectors or by joining university-based interdisciplinary research groups. You can develop such collaborative initiatives by working with other researchers and co-author publications.
4. Deal With Rejections
Rejections in the PhD program are an unwanted emotional downer and may become a routine. But what matters the most is how you react to it. Unsought advice can feel abusive sometimes. Competitions for fellowships, publications and internships can stress you out and comparing yourself with others can be toxic. The best coping mechanism is not to take rejections or criticism personally.
Remember, there will always be someone better than you. However, you’re pursuing your degree, and it is better to work on your personalised skills and knowledge rather than focusing on others.
If your paper gets rejected by a journal, you can always submit it to any other suitable place. If you couldn’t pass the conference, don’t send an academic rebuttal or hate letter, it can harm your reputation too. Just MOVE ON and work better.
5. Collaborate with Your Supervisor
Being a PhD researcher, it is your responsibility to ensure you get the required supervision you need. Undeniably, supervisors are usually busy. So, if you need any suggestions on your approach, you will have to wait. However, if you require feedback on your draft, it’s your job to get their attention. Never forget, it’s your training to become an independent researcher. Therefore, take ownership of your project.
You can’t solely rely on your supervisor, so take charge. The best way of collaborating with your instructor is to have regular meetings with a simple plan. In those meetings, you can discuss the work you’ve done, problems coming your way, and the next step you need to take. Always be ready for these meetings and take maximum advantage of the opportunity by discussing things at length.
6. Avoid Distractions
There are a lot of things that can become distractions in your way. Some may not even seem like distractions, such as tutoring and teaching, completing additional courses, assignments, hunting references, short trips, frequent night outs, and the biggest of all, social media surfing.
You may never have thought of these things this way. But they function as huge distractions, especially when you have a dissertation to complete. There is nothing erroneous with these activities. However, writing your dissertation must take precedence over fitting other things around.
Thus, you can break down the tasks into smaller chunks and divide your work to balance everything. We understand that it is significant for you to take a break, but why not keep it aside for weekends? As of right now, your PhD is the priority!
7. Try to Be Realistic
Remember, we are all here trying to make an original contribution to the world of academics. Most PhD students start with passionately unrealistic expectations to achieve in the tenure of three or four years. They see their PhD program as an opportunity to make a memorable contribution. There is nothing wrong with that either, but it should be realistic.
So, keep in mind; you have a PhD to complete, and you don’t have all your life to do it. Moreover, the purpose of your research is to learn how to become an independent researcher. Your dissertation may not be perfect, but it must have in-depth research.
8. Establish A Routine
It is significant to stay on track. The best way to do so and keep peace of mind is by creating a schedule you can follow and committing yourself to follow constantly. Dedicate segments of your routine for reading pertinent literature and research in your field. Include some time for sleep, exercise, good nutrition, socialising, and more.
Keep in mind; you’ll have other obligations like commuting, cleaning, attending lectures, shop for groceries, meeting study groups, and collaborating with academic organizations. Create a realistic schedule, so you won’t have to work yourself into fear turmoil.
9. Address Your Emotional Health
A poor work-life balance can be one of the most significant contributors to depression and burnout. Many students don’t share their worries and feel like a failure. Sometimes, it is crucial to seek help from counselling or different health centres.
You can also talk to the people you trust outside your mental health organisation for personal counselling. Ask for help if you feel stressed or worried.
10. Get Help from Academic Experts
You can always ask people to help you edit or format your dissertation. Several dissertation writing services UK assist struggling students complete their PhD dissertation with good grades.
So, now you don’t need to worry or do it yourself. There is a lot of legitimate assistance available to help you on several stages.
Final Words!
These are the ten mind-blowing secrets, which (thanks to us) are no more a secret! Now that you know them, it’s time to get on and do your best!
